Car-brake



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. W. FRIEL.

OAR BRAKE.

Wibzeas'es I nuantar N4 PEIERS PhclvLilhcgnpMr, Washinglum D, C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2;

epw. FRIEL.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 253,031. Patented Jan. 31,1882.

Witness as I nve vdvr.

- 3 She-ens Sheet, 3. G. W.. FRIEL.

I GAR BRAKE.

(N 0 Model.)

Patented Jan. 31,1882.

or. Washingian, n. c,

Unites rates ATENT tries.

GEORGE V. FRIEL, OF ROCKLAND, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION'fOrming part of Letters Patent No. 253,031, dated January31, 1882.

Application filed June 25, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. FRIEL, ofRockland, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented anImprovement in Brakes for Railway-Cars, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification.

My invention relates to brakes for railwaycars, and has for its objectto produce a brake that can be automatically applied at the will of theoperator on the car, it being shown as used in connection withfreight-cars, and so arranged that the operator in running along thetops of the cars can cause the brake to be applied by the action of hisfoot as he passes across from one car to the other, and without stoppingin his movement. The'brake-shoes at each end of the truck are mountedupon the ends of levers jointed together at their other ends and actedupon at theirjoint by thrust-bars properly connected together, end toend, to produce a toggle-joint action, and actuated by a powerful springto bring the said barsinto line with one another, and thus cause them toact powerfully at thejointed ends of the brake-levers to press thebrakeshoes against the wheels. The joint of the said thrust bars is alsoconnected with a crank on a rock-shaft, provided with another crank atthe end of the under side ofthe car-body, connected by a link with alever at the top of the car, which lever is intended to be actuated bythe brakeman to break thejoint of the said toggle-jointed thrust-barsand act in opposition to the actuating-spring to withdraw thebrake-shoes from the wheels, the op erator thus exerting his power totake off the brakes, instead ofin setting them up, as is usuallypracticed. A locking device (shown as a spring-actuated pawl or dog)engages the said lever and holds it in position to keep the brake 011'or out of contact with the wheels, and the said dog hasatripping-projection extending up through the platform upon which thebrakeman passes over the car, so that he can by treading on the saidprojections in passing release the lever, whereupon the brake is at onceautomatically applied by the force of the actuating-spring. Theconnections from the actuating-lever to the toggle-jointed thrust-barsand brakes proper is positive, so that the operator may by means of thesaid lever apply (No model.)

the brake in case the actuating-spring should become inoperative, orthesaid operator may employ his force in addition to that of the saidspring, if desired.

Figure 1 is a side elevation ol a portion of a car provided \viih myautomatic bra ke; Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof; and Fig. 3 an underside View, showing the arrangement of the levers and thrust-bars.

The car-body a and truck-frame b may be of any usual construction, thesaid truck frame will force thejoints 2 of the pairs of levers (1 attheopposite ends of the truck apart, turning the said levers on theirpivots 3 and pressing the shoes 6 against the wheels. Anactuating-spring, g, connected at one end with the joint 4 of thethrust-barsfand at its other end with the frame-work l) of the truck,acts to draw the said thrust-bars into line with one another, to therebyapply the brakes, as just described. The joint 4 of the thrust-bars isalso connected by a link, It, with a crank, 2, upon a rock-shaft, j,extending to the end of the car, where it is provided with anothercrank, it, connected by a link, I, with the short arm 01' a handledlever, m,pivoted at 6 upon the framework of the car, and provided with aratchet, a. (Shown in dottedlines,Fig.2.) Bythisarrangement,vvhen thelever m is turned in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, it causes therock-shat'tj to turn and draw the link It and joint at of the thrustbarsfin opposition to the actuating-spring g, thus breaking the joint of thesaid thrust-bars and removing them from their position in line with oneanother, to thereby draw the joints2 of the lever cl at the ends of thetruck together and remove the brake-shoes c from the wheels, as shown inFig. 3.

A dog, 1', pivoted at 7 upon the top of the car, is normally pressed bya spring, s, into engagement with the ratchetn upon the lever m, so thatwhen the said lever is turned in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, itis locked by the said dog and prevented from returning under the actionof the actuatingspring g to apply the brake.

The end 1' of the locking device or dog r is extended up through theplatform t at the top of the car, over which the brakeman moves inpassing from one car to another, thus forming a tripping-projection, sothat the brakeman, in running from one car to another, by putting hisfoot upon the said projection T will disengage or unlock the lever at,when the brake will be immediately applied by the automatic action ofthe spring g.

lt'desired, the operator might positi vely turn the lever m in thedirection opposite to the arrow, Fig. 2,while holding the dog rdisengaged therefrom to thus apply the brake in case the spring gfailsto operate or was not sufficiently strong to bring the barsf fully inline, and the teeth of the ratchet a, on the side toward the point ofthe arrow, Fig. 2, may be turned in the opposite direction, so that thedog, in acting on these teeth, will hold the brake applied in case thebarsf were not brought wholly into line.

A weight might be employed instead of the actuating-springg, itbeing,for example, placed at the end of the crank 7c,or of an extensionthereof, as shown in dotted lines at 10, Fig. 2.

I am aware that itis not new to provide each car with an actuator toapply the brakes, except when the force of the said actutor isneutralized or overcomeby an external forcenvhich thus removes thepressure of the brakes from the wheels instead of applying it thereto.

I claim- 1. The pivoted brake-levers provided with brake-shoes at oneend and the toggle-jointed thrust-bars, connected with the other endsthereof, combined with the actuating spring or weight to draw the saidthrust-barsintoline and apply the brakes, substantially as described.

2. The pivoted brake-levers provided with brake-shoes at one endthereof, and the togglejointed thrust-bars connected with the other endsof the said levers, combined with the actuatin'g-lever and connectingmechanism between it and the said thrust-bars, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

3. The toggle-jointed thrust-bars and actuating-spring, combined withthe cranked rockshaft connected with the joint of the said bars, and thelink and handled lever to operate the said shaft, substantially asdescribed.

4. The brake-levers and toggle-jointed thrustbars and theiractuating-spring, combined with the actuating-lever and connectingmechanism between it and the said bars, and the locking device therefor,substantially as described.

5. The brake'shoes and their operating, mechanism and actuator therefor,combined with the actuating'dever, arranged, as described, to act inopposition to the said actuator, and the locking device with itstripping-projection located, as set forth, to be tripped by the operatorin passing, whereby the actuator is permitted to automatically apply thebrakes, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE W. FRIEL.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. T. SrE'rsoN, WILLIAM H. RAND.

